Typical to most mountains, Delpoi often has landslides, which upsets the town at its base. The people who live there, though, refuse to pack up and move, for they have lived there for generations upon generations. The mountain is quite beautiful, aside from its hazardous nature. Dotted with pines trees covered in grass, small streams of sweet water wind their way from the top to the town below. It's only dangerous when it rains.

White Hill

"Half my heart a gift of purity
Half my heart a deadly curse
Half will live in sweet obscurity
Half will take me to my hearse"

For generations did Twin Moon Peak leer over this tranquil town, through rain and sleet and hail with its wings ever folded by its dormant sides. For generations gentle waters pleasantly burbled down the mountainside and danced where the buildings stood. The Caedmon Mountains loomed high over the citizenry and stood stalwart, gazing into the sun and the clouds and the thunderclaps. Thousands of boreal trees swayed and shivered in bitter winds.

Today those trees slumbered underneath pristine blankets of fluffy, gentle snowflakes, and the streams pushed past icy walls in anticipation of the runoff that would follow. The citizens milled about to perform their daily business with little to no thought of the world beyond their boundaries. All was at peace, at total tranquility, and none feared any landslide or avalanche that was common of the Caedmon Mountains. A murky veil was draped over the town and streaked in violets and crimsons of the setting sun. Truly, the folk were prepared to turn in for the day and let frost cover their sleeping eyes.

And yet another look would reveal unrest beneath the surface. It seemed that one communicated a sense of unease to another despite their relaxed strides and happy faces, and as they withdrew to their homes they eagerly shut and locked their doors against the oncoming night. Even the drowsy sun appeared in a hurry to depart before the imminent darkness arrived. Mayhaps the bliss was an entire facade to turn away unwanted attention. Children stumbled through the streets where salt had dissolved ice and snow alike, and one child fell into a pile of snow that had been pushed to the side. Said child took an unwitting glance at the descending, gentle drifts of snow before she bolted for the comfort of her home. Twin Moon Peak stood as high as ever, unmoved, unswayed, its face obscured in the wintry dusk.

White was accented with crimsons and violets. Snow pooled on the streets and the salts were steadily spent in their efforts to ward the ice. The town's clamor settled to stillness and silence, and the last of the citizenry finished the last of their business on the streets, allowing the town's veins to continue coursing with gentle life. A bittersweet chill breathed frost upon glass panes and swept gloriously down the streets in the approaching twilight.

A woman swept snow off of her porch. A dog sniffed about in discarded heaps of what hopefully contained food. A white Guysack stood dormant beside a store, inside which a man prepared to close his shop up. The man paused in his works to admire the snow which settled in his window.

post_count; 1o.o.c.;50k will be reaped from the completion of this roleplay
due to its opening during the Site-Wide event.

Snow. Tendou had seen such a phenomenon in the past, but this time was different. It was beautiful as well as unsettling. The town itself had an uneasy look to it, as if when night fell witches and demons partook in their dark rituals and poison brews. This of course was laughed at in this modern day and age. As it should be. Yet with this dark presence a light still shone. As if something out of a Taoist's greatest dream this town shone of good and evil, darkness and light.

Tendou watched the people as they went along their buisness of turning in for the night. They seemed happy. Yet they had a look of bliss as one does if they are doing so under threat of death. There was something more going on here. The brown haired man payed it no other thought as he wandered down the endless sub-urban streets with rows of cookie-cutter houses. Thinking thoughtfully to himself he put his hands back in his pockets to warm them. Such an odd town. This might be worth his time to look around. He continued down his path as the snow fell lightly all around him.
"The sunset is truely beautiful..."

As if in direct contrast to the town that was slowly shutting down for the night, there was part of it that was still filled with life. Life and laughter.

"Hey sis, wait up!"

"Catch me if you can, slowpoke!"

Two children (though honestly, they had to be at least 20 or so), barreled down one of the quiet, snowy streets. Both were laughing, with great furrows of snow being thrown up as they barreled along without a care. The lead, a female with a black and gold coat, took a great leap as they came to the street, coming down with her boots on the ice in the roadway and starting to slide. She careened along, arms out for balance and still laughing, while her brother had to catch himself on a lamp post, but still fell a little bit as he watched.

"Woah."

He was more cautious, taking a few steps onto the black ice covering the road and essentially skating on it. The ice was littered with tons of scratches and gouges as the twins played on the ice. The girl, eventually, grabbed a lamp post to stop, slingshotting half around and jumping into a snowdrift.

"Isn't that cold?" her brother questioned as he calmly skated over, leaning over to look into the hole that she had made. Like a daisy, her head popped up, but she was grinning. And obviously kind of cold.

"Kinda!" she, with her brother's help, climbed out of the snowdrift and buttoned up her trenchcoat, where it had been unbuttoned before. Her twin crossed his arms while he waited, shivering slightly. "Let's go get some cocoa or something, I'm cold,"

"Good idea," she brushed the snow off of her shoulders, looking at the ice from where they had come from, and seeing all the scratches, "Gives us a chance to calm down,"

The twins, Sable and Elric Kerberos, smiled at each other, nervously and knowingly, before going to find somewhere that was still open, to get something to drink.

[Since I never use these two, this is them. The one isn't done right now, but... meh. >.>]

((OOC: First RP and RP post here...I'm excited! FYI, the only colored speech will be Zoid speech for now as Canas and Niime use the same color in my silly, OCD mind-formatting.))

Canas still struggled with the controls of Niime on occasion. The mountain terrain didn't help with that, but Canas was here with a purpose and the occasional stumble wouldn't stop him. He was going to see his wife for the first time in almost a year.

With the infamy of the Epochal Knights growing at a seeming exponential rate over the past year, not nearly to the government sponsored level of the Guardian Force, but slowly becoming barroom conversation points, Canas had been kept busy with various jobs nearly constantly. As a seemingly destined coincidence, Alania, Canas's wife, and her research group had made discovery in the Caedmon Mountain Range, involving a small ruin and several empty Organoid capsules, that had kept them busy. Canas had earned a short vacation, due largely to their newest member receiving his Zoid, but also because Hannibal knew Canas missed his wife, and was headed towards a small town that his wife was staying at.

"We're nearly there, Niime," Canas said as Niime stumbled once again, "Ah, I can not wait to see my favorite wife again. She says that we aren't supposed to talk about her research teams discovery to anyone though because they don't want competitors or thieves finding the site. It is the strangest thing though, the ruins consist of only two rooms and each room has several empty Organoid capsules in them. They never would have found the place either if not for that landslide landslide last year. If only she'd been lucky enough to find some capsules that weren't empty, but still this a great opportunity for her to find out about more about Organoids."

Canas took pause momentarily before continuing his one-sided conversation, "You know what else is interesting. Both moons are supposed to be full tonight. That is quite the rare occurrence, you know. Of course, that reminds me of the old tales of mysterious disappearances, magic, and strange creatures that only come out when both moons are full. Who knows, in these mountains maybe we'll get lucky and find out if those tales are true. The whole concept is remarkably exciting and on top of that, we'd get to explore with Alania. I almost can't contain myself at the thought of uncovering the possible mystery. Just imagine if..."

Niime growled, You're rambling again. After a short pause, Canas did not continue and Niime took that as her que. Besides, if the tales are true, how could we share our story with anyone if we disappeared or got killed by one of the creatures, Niime added with a softer, borderline purring, growl. She always took it upon herself to bring Canas back to the real world when he carried away by one thing or another. Canas a bad habit that manifested itself if he knew any little thing about a subject that was brought up. He would begin talking and not stop until he had shared every detail he knew about the subject or until he was interrupted. I have not seen Alania in far to long though and I am also excited for our reunion, Niime concluded in the same purring growl.

The pair arrived at the edge of the town just as the sun was setting, creating some interesting and eerie shadows that played in the snow and neigh empty streets. "Hey, looks like most of the main streets are wide enough for you to fit, Niime," Canas said happily, "Now, where was Alania staying?"

The sharp, icy wind shot through the atmosphere, but the white precipitation continued to fall softly; the last sparks of incandescence streamed over the horizon slowly, somehow still reflecting off of the settled ice and snow on the ground. In a far side of town, a more manageable zephyr blew periodically, carrying some of the abnormal weather with it. From that edge of Caedmon, a person -couldn’t be much older than, say, 16- glided in. Amber eyes softened, and a small smile on her face, she gazed into the falling beauty, reaching her hand out to feel it. Snow…Rikku didn’t get to see much of it, so this oddity was more like an unsuspected gift. Quiet excitement coarsed throughout her being on a level comparable to a kid in a candy store, or better yet, a pilot next to a Gilvader who wasn't attacking. The entire sight of the sleepy town was all so exquisitely tender and peaceful, yes, but-

"Whoo-hoo!" Rikku dashed forward, somehow assured about her every step, springboarded off of a dumpster nearby, and climbed onto the roof of an already-retired home, laying down on the coating of white afterwards. "That’s better!"

Well, taking the energy out of this tomboy would be like taking the battle out of a zoid.

Anyway, she laid there for a while, watching the last sparks of sunlight fade into the horizon and the dual lunar bodies rise from the other direction. Of course, it wasn't occurring to her that she was also being lightly submerged under the precipitation, so that may have advanced the bright darkness in her case, but still...

'I'm getting colder...too cold...!'

Perhaps I spoke too soon. Exploding from under the cocoon, she slid off her resting place. More time had elapsed than the few minutes she’d thought; the sky was a lighter hue of the usual blackish-grey color dusk had to offer. Brushing the remnants off, she looked to the mountain, for no apparent reason it would seem. Standing there stagnantly, the only thing that shocked her back into reality was an abrupt gust pinching the back of her neck. Responsively, Rikku began to head into the center of the city, throwing up her fur-lined hood, and the diamond-dust shimmering in her wake.

Near the southern outskirts of town a lone Fire Fox could be seen laying down on all fours. Kaedon had just, for lack of a better word “parked”, and was now contemplating his next move. He glanced over the outside thermometer and unconsciously shivered thinking about the cold. He quickly rummaged through a mess of his things until he found his jacket and put it on.

He stared out of the Fox’s canopy, thinking back to how enthusiastic he was towards snow as a child and how quickly the love for the cold powder turned to bitterness as an adult. After a few minutes of collecting his thought he pushed the button that opened the Fox’s canopy and made his way out of the zoid and towards town.

As he walked the town’s streets he questioned whether he should look for a place to stay for the night or find a bar or restaurant. He decided he’d probably just go with whichever one he found first and continued walking the streets in his search.

Fortunately for the Kerberos twins, there did appear to be a place open. It was a humble cafe, snug underneath a pale blanket of frost and a hollow husk of its former self. The last of its patrons silently slipped away into the descending darkness. Behind the counter of the bar hovered what appeared to be a young man, who contentedly rubbed the grime off of some obscure glass, perhaps waiting especially for the two who sought their desired drinks. Gossip hung from the tip of his tongue like a hook. He needed to part with this talk of a lavish celebration toward Twin Moon Peak, a party to which all were invited in honor of the full moons which lurked apprehensively behind curtains of dark clouds on this very night.

When the sun plummeted into the horizon, its crown just peering out, a bitter wind took flight and whistled down the emptying streets. The icy gale nipped at Rikku, at Tendou. The lifeless eyes of a zoid mangled in a graveyard of zoids seemed to watch Kaedon. A small bird crashed into Niime's canopy headfirst with an unpleasant splatter, and more than likely it was dead on the spot. The echoes of its final cry reverberated down the suddenly silent walkways, and vermin paused in their ventures to peer up wonderingly at the snow that huddled around them.

A blue-eyed Bloodler was comfortably nestled atop the roof of a store that had already closed up for the night. The zoid had shoved snow away in order to make something like a bed for himself, although it was clear the dragon was far from asleep. His head was lifted high and his blue optics glowed in the coming twilight, and he scanned the streets below him, curious as to whether or not the town would come back to life. Even a single person stirring the emptiness would catch his attention.

He turned his head as a peculiar light fell across the town. In less than a minute, the light of Zi's moons veiled the landscape in curious hues of their own, and their presence touched the falling snow with grim elegance and morbid contemplation.

As they walked along, Sable caught sight of somewhere that was still open, even as the town died around them. The sun sunk further and further behind the mountains, making the town darker and darker. Even as the shadows grew, they barely seemed to notice. Their panting slowed as they trudged through the snow and into the cafe, with the girl shaking her coat off to get the snow to fall from the bottom.

"This town is kind of weird," Elric whispered to his sister, who studied his nervous expression, and responded with a grin, "Scared?"

"Of course not," he huffed indignantly. His twin continued grinning until they reached someone who worked at the cafe, and ordered two hot chocolates.

They opted to stay inside out of the snow, for a few minutes at least, and it looked like Elric had something on his mind as he stared into the cup, stirring it. "Do you think father is going to be mad? About coming out here by ourselves. We never exactly got permission from him," he said quietly.

Sable contemplated that for at least a few seconds, but threw the thought away with the same reckless abandon that she always did, "It's not like we're going to get in trouble or anything. The worst that'll happen is that dad'll get uncle Dante to bring us back."

"..." Elric wrinkled his nose, pursing his lips and looking bothered. "...I don't like uncle Dante very much," he mumbled, shifting from side to side. His sister just grinned at him again, "You know he can hear you right now, right?"

"That's not funny!" he cried, flailing at his sister with his plastic spoon. Laughing, she gestured for him to follow her outside, and they continued their walk around town. The moons were coming out, and Elric shivered slightly, holding his coat tighter and telling himself that his creepy uncle wasn't watching them. Over and over again.

The sun had just disappeared and Canas was watching in Niime's cockpit. "I always love th..." Canas was interrupted by a loud splat and a object slowly slide down the canopy slowly in a bloody streak. Canas jumped and jerked the controls trying to figure out what just happened. Niime was off balance again and Canas's jerk was more than she could correct. The loud crash echoed throughout the little town as a 25 ton raptor fell into the wooden porch of the nearest building.

Canas slowly shook, somewhat dazed by the crash. "Ah sorry, are you all right Niime?" Canas asked, "What was that?

You really need to work on your piloting skills Canas! It was just a bird! Niime growled loudly. A moment later the snow from the slanted roof of the building fell onto Niime's head completely covering the canopy in snow. Canas righted Niime and she shook her head to get the remaining snow off. Canas unbuckled himself, so he could get out and inspect the damage and clean the remaining blood of the windshield before it dried or froze.

As the canopy popped open Canas said with a shiver, "Woah! It is really cold out here." He began buttoning his jacket up at the shocking realization and put on a pair of gloves. He cleaned off the blood on the windshield with some of the left over snow on the canopy. "Poor bird, we weren't even going that fast. Something feels weird Niime," Canas said with a hint of nervousness and as if on que the moons came out from the clouds. The light seemed almost unnatural as it reflected off the light snow and the scattered clouds produced disturbing shadows.

"Well, let's go find the owners of the building," Canas sighed.

-----------------

Two buildings away and on the opposite side of the road a woman staying at the local inn was abruptly awaken from her slumber by a loud noise. She wrapped a blanket around herself as she made her way over to the frost glazed window. She peered out and saw a familiar shape though it was slightly skewed by the icy glaze.

She threw the blanket on the bed and started getting ready for a trip outdoors. "He made it," she said aloud with a broad smile.

Tendou shivered as the night air whipped through him. He held his coat closer a bit as he continued on. He took his hand out of his pocket to raise his hand to the sky, finger extended. "Grandmother once said this, " He started, but was interupted by a chill that went down his spine through both feet. There was something odd about this town. Was it Zects doing or was it coincidence. He could not decide for himself untill he knew more about the town.

He continued on his path for a good long while as the white snow fell lightly, contrasted with the dark thick atmosphere of the town. He was awoken from his dazed walk by a loud crash nearbye. What could that possibly be? It must be examined. He made his way confidently over to the center of the noise. The moons shone brightly down upon the now quiet scene. Tendou watched as the unfamilliar person appeared from their zoid. He could not help but over hear the man talking and replied "I am the one you are looking for."

Zipping her heavy, winter coat up by now, the tomboy weaved her way through the little town, taking and random path that didn't double-back on itself, but was still interesting...or, as interesting as walking could be, anyway. Well, after a couple of minutes of this mindless wandering, she popped out of an alleyway, blowing a raspberry in annoyance. No matter how beautiful the day may be, and no matter how deep in thought she may-

"OHHH, I'M SO BORED!"

-or may not be, impulse still had it's way with her. Rabid energy boiling up and over the top, she spotted a mound of the white precipitation across the street, and she bolted towards it, ready to kick it halfway to the next continent. ...That was the plan, anyway. What really happened was more magnificent. Hitting a patch of ice in mid-stride, momentum carried her into a wild maelstrom of flips and rotations, eventually sending her crashing through the target, and into the home behind it.

Boredom was a cruel wench...with a weird sense of humor.

Standing up, some of the roof's excess covering slid off of it, and hit her, dropping the girl again.

"Well," Rikku mumbled. "That genuinely sucked."

Finally arising, she could see, mostly due to the moons' refraction, fading footsteps. Two pairs of them, heading in pretty much the same direction. Feeling the tingle of the winter wind, the drive of a mystery cutting the haze of nothingness...and, on top of that, anything beats standing around doing nothing. The same bout of impulse taking over once again, she followed in the footsteps before her.

The man cleaned his last glass for the night as the twins left the cafe. He sighed, setting the glass in its proper cubbyhole, and he shuffled off to officially close down the cafe for the night.

"What was that all about, I wonder? I didn't even get to ask them about the party. Well, I suppose I'll see when I get there."

Down the white streets ambled what appeared to be a generic Climber Wolf. It had no weapons and was more than likely a mere form of transportation, and the zoid kept its head low while it padded along. It perked upon hearing a crash and turned a corner. There, it noted that a Gun Sniper had crashed into someone's porch, and another person stood a few paces away as if he had just arrived there.

The Climber Wolf padded over to the Gun Sniper and inspected the damage. "Excuse me," said a female pilot over the wolf's speaker, "are you folks all right?"

The blue-eyed Bloodler quickly spotted a pair of figures moving through the dark. By this time, the sun had thrown the horizon above itself and was now hidden, which left the entire town to its cold, dreamy slumber. Another figure trailed their backs. His optics glowed through the blackening twilight and he pushed himself up to observe them, since his life consisted of little else other than watching the lives of others. He let his monitors zoom in on the three and stood still.

It was exceedingly dark. When he opened his eyes, moonbeams were reflected in an eye of ruby and an eye of emerald. He could sense immediately that it was a frigid landscape, though when he sat up and glanced about he could see little farther than a few feet. Blackness swallowed the ends of the alleyway he sat in.

Beneath him, his bare hands burned from an icy touch, and he flinched away from the snow his body was buried under. They were bright this night and his hair just as brilliant. His pilot's outfit was as dark as the nighttime sky, pitch black and a great contrast to his freezing skin. The young man hurried to his feet and gave the area a bewildered glance. When his gaze fell upon a tall figure, deep umber in skin and crimson in hair, he leaped back a startled pace.

The figure regarded him with probing crimson eyes before turning away. He hurried into the darkness, and the bemused pilot took a moment to gather his thoughts. His voice struggled to cry out after the stranger, but nothing arose from his throat. Instead his legs moved in a desperate instinct to flee such a frightening place. He hated the dark, after all.

He found himself pursuing the stranger down a complex web of alleyways. Somehow he was always on his tail, and yet he could not find the voice to call out to him. He recognized him, the dark skin, the crimson hair and eyes, the eerie aura that pressed down wherever he popped up. And that was a lot of places.

The young man skidded to a sudden halt when the figure did. They were at a street, fog engulfing everything in sight. The figure turned and smiled at him.

"You shouldn't chase demons, kid."

Vetis disappeared down the street into the fog. Aeolus, who was still alarmed by the man's unexpected appearance, reached after him and proceeded to pursue Vetis once again. The air bit at his bare hands and his cheeks. His outfit was not made for the cold, and the cold seemed to pull him back even as he sprinted forward.

"Wait, wait!" Aeolus finally screamed. Headlights fell on him. He froze and swung around to face an oncoming truck, which blared its horn as it rapidly approached. He threw his arms over his head and the truck filled his vision.

He jolted awake in a bank of snow. The vision had snapped away, replaced by the reality around him, yet it took his body and mind a few moments to readjust to the sudden change. It was still cold, and yet it did not numb him nearly as much as it did in the dream. His nerves were weary of sleep and grasped for some sort of sensation. Not even the snow jerked him to awareness, and so while he registered the fact that he was no longer dreaming, he gradually settled into the realm of the waking world.

What brought him to awareness was a skid on the concrete. Aeolus raised his head and saw that someone had screeched to a stop beside him on a hoverboard, and he spotted a shoe that was curiously familiar. It was more of a hand-me-down boot that had no real name to it. His gaze trailed up to the owner, who was a tan boy almost his age and peered down with impassive brown eyes.

"You shouldn't chase demons."

"Bond?" Dazed, Aeolus feebly raised his head. "What are you doing here? I thought you were in Terrone."

Promptly, his heart skipped a beat. Aeolus not only thought that the orphan was supposed to be in Terrone, but he thought he had been in Terrone.

"That's what I thought, too," Bond replied. He kicked up the hoverboard and zoomed off.

Instantly forgetting his dream, Aeolus sprang up to run after his friend. It took some effort for him to gain his feet, and yet when he was up, he was only more surprised to see he was not in his previous outfit. What Aeolus had on his being was a dark jacket fringed in white fur and a pair of black pants. He only glanced down at the outfit for a moment before he sprinted off after Bond, calling after him.

The boy didn't like being on edge, and boy was he right now. Maybe there was method to his sister's madness, or maybe she just liked being mean to him. Either way...

"Someone's following us," he whispered, looking to the side where his sister walked. As usual, she looked calm and collected, head framed by the golden ruff of feathers on the fringe of her hood. She glanced back at him, still not looking concerned.

"Yeah, I know,"

Elric... not exactly bristled but he seemed unsettled, yet still didn't look back over their shoulder. Something about this town... they couldn't quite place it. It put Elric on edge, but Sable didn't seem bothered by it.

So, she calmly looked back at the girl following them, with her fur lined coat. When nothing catastrophic happened, her brother looked back too. It was only a few seconds, then they looked back at each other. They didn't have any reason to be worried...

Sable shrugged it off, looking ahead so she didn't walk into anything. Her brother was not quite so lucky, as his shoe hit a patch of ice and he slipped, falling on his behind.

It was absurdly familiar. Winding down various corridors, the icy wind nipping at his ears and cheeks, many elements of the scenario were near-identical to his vision. At least this time he was actually wearing layers to keep him warm. And rather than chase after ever-fleeting footsteps, he was chasing the drone of the Terrone orphan's hoverboard.

After the first few calls, Aeolus had given up on trying to call Bond back and settled for simply pursuing the orphan in silence. His rapid footfalls resounded off of the walls around him and the snow thickened wherever he went. The cold seeped into his blood and he felt its weight pull him back. Still, Aeolus sprinted on, gasping at the chill as his lungs burned and the alleyways blurred in his stinging eyes.

He burst out on the street now, and still the Terrone orphan wheeled away from him, zigzagging down the empty road on his hoverboard as if drifting through the snow. He would have viewed it as serene if he wasn't so...confused. With more than enough zeal to spare, Aeolus bolted after his friend, white hair flashing at his back.

The Bloodler watched on while the strange figures glided through the dark. One had fallen on his bum, an old and innocent blunder that he would have liked to chuckle at. Humanity was a curious thing to perceive when you were robbed of it. He moved to sit down and fold his claws over one another, to continue observation from the rooftop of that store — but midway, he was halted by a sudden bellow that shattered the silence.

Aeolus was in the middle of the street when headlights fell on him. It was the blare of the truck's horn, however, that had really caught his attention, and he snapped his head toward the oncoming vehicle and threw his arms above him. But unlike in the vision, his legs kept moving. The truck yanked back to stop. Instead, it violently skidded on the road and swung, and its trailer lurched and slammed into the ground with a terrifying screech that made his bones run cold. The screaming and sparking vehicle swerved around the hapless young man who still raced until he was on the other side of the street.

It all bore down to silence once again. Aeolus hopped onto the other sidewalk and swung around, and he noted not one sign of the tan orphan he'd pursued, but his heart sank at the fallen truck. There was no trademark on it to indicate what company it was part of, although he feared it held some kind of dangerous cargo.

His concern lay with the truck's driver now. Aeolus did not call upon Earth's God or Zi's Eve, though he did emit a fumbling stream of, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I am so sorry," while he again darted forward in spite of his protesting muscles. He had run farther and faster before, so a few more yards could hardly hurt.

As it turned out, the truck had crashed at an intersection. When Aeolus glanced down the intersecting street he could see a pair of figures in the distance, but his normally keen ears throbbed painfully from the vehicle's horrendous cry of metal and cold concrete. He discern little of any voices beyond the dull thrum. It was also kind of difficult to hear past the pounding in his chest, but he wasn't paying much attention to that either.

"Hehe, c'mon bro, get up," Sable smiled, getting her footing together and reaching down to help Elric up. He held onto his sister with one arm, and pulled himself up on the light pole with the other. The pair dusted him of snow and started walking again.

"Did you notice that Bloodler there before?" the boy said suddenly, pointing up at the building where the dragon roosted. Sable's eyes lit up at the sight of the Zoid, and she shook her head, "I didn't, no. Let's go see-"

They stopped, heads snapping up at the noise that came from the street. Seeing the accident, they practically flew over the snowbank in a leap to run and help, skating over any ice in the road.

"Hey, you alright?" Sable asked, skidding to a stop only after she grabbed a hold of a piece of the truck to stop herself. Elric leaned back, and slammed his feet down to stop next to her, oddly cracking the ice underfoot and leaving four deep gouges in the ice for a few inches where he stopped.

"Looks alright," he said, climbing up to peer into the cab of the truck and see if the driver was alright. They knew better then to drag the guy out... it was better left to the ambulance/fire truck to do that. His sister eyed him for a second, reaching up to grab the back of his pants and yank him down, "What happened, kid? We weren't actually looking when it happened..."

The snowfall seemed to thin out around that time, gentle and quiet, and not a single breath of wind graced the town. Aeolus stood staring in a daze while these strangers hurried forward to check on the state of things. His knees were weak and he felt that he could swoon at any time, that he could simply lie back down and go back to sleep. For a moment he tried to remember where he was before he was whisked away to this place. Frankly, Aeolus wondered how he got here in the first place.

Here. Close to Caedmon Mountain Range. Was he supposed to know that?

When he turned his head, he spotted the obscured figure of a small cat peering out at the destruction before it darted away. He couldn't tell what kind it was, only that its pelt looked a little orange underneath the moonlight. Aeolus turned back to the strangers and tried to keep a grip on reality.

That seemed...more difficult than it should have been.

"I-I don't..." What did happen? "I ran out, and this truck almost ran over me. I guess it tried to stop but this ended up happening instead."

Right. Icy road right underneath him. How had he failed to notice? Aeolus craned his head to see into the cab, unaware that no one was behind the wheel. "Is the driver okay?"

The Bloodler stared off in the general direction of the crash for a moment, trying to zoom in on the image to the best of his ability before he decided it was worth inspecting. He hopped toward the edge of the store's roof and leaped into the air, and he sailed on Zi's magnetic field to take to the sky, ascending far enough to pass over most of the town's buildings. Thank Eve for that magnetic field! What would he be without it?

He arced in the sky toward the crash, then sought an empty space to land in whether it was another roof or a big gap amid the buildings.

"Woah," Elric breathed, pushing himself up on his hands and arms and leaning away from the eerily empty cab with slight fear. When his sister grabbed his clothing, he was easily yanked down to the ground, and squeaked when his butt hit the ice and roadway, cracking the thin layer of frozen water.

Sable gave her brother a look, letting Aeolus attempt to collect himself, and her attention was back on him when he spoke. "Prolly skidded on the ice. You look alright, at least," Sable gave him a quick once over as her brother stood up, staring fearfully up at the cab. "How is the driver? ...Elric?"

"I-" he jumped up again to get a look, a disbelieving look on his face, "There's nobody in here,"

"...what?" she jumped up next to him, peering down inside with the same disbelief.

The twins gave each other meaningful looks, eyes almost flickering in the darkness.

The exchange between the two pushed him further toward an edge he had no sight of. Aeolus shifted uneasily in his spot, eager to hear if this random civilian was unhurt, shouldering a good part of the blame for the truck's fantastic collision with the floor. In all the pounding adrenaline that slammed into his head, he could scarce sense the cold upon his skin, and it was only by a passing shadow that he remembered what the weather was like at that moment in time. All right? Him? Just a little bit.

He stared wearily at the one who'd inspected the cab — how were they both the same height and taller than him? — when he noted that something was wrong. Even through this queer procession of events, expressions and little shifts in attitude did not slip by him too easily. He furrowed his brow, concerned that something must have happened.

"There's nobody in here."

Blood rushed to his head again. He wasn't sure why, but it shocked him enough to feel a rush of something, perhaps a need to satisfy his skeptical side. There was no way no one could be behind the wheel. He moved to peer into the cab himself, and he almost slipped on the ice in his haste and reached out to take a hold of the door. But before he could vault himself up to inspect the cab, a bird bolted out and shot over their heads, screaming past the twins and nearly throwing Aeolus over.

The young man stumbled back and slid on the ice until he hit a rougher patch of road. He was more than alarmed by the abrupt stop and his heart drummed painfully in his ribcage. Being here rather than Terrone was upsetting enough; he didn't want to put up with runaway orphans, vanishing truck drivers, and surprise featherballs. So naturally, when he jerked his head back to see something wheeling in the sky overhead, it wasn't with a sense of composure.

Soon the figure was made clear to them as it rapidly descended. The blue-eyed Bloodler landed not too far from the truck, halfway on the road and halfway on the sidewalk with a foot planted into a heap of snow. The zoid took a casual moment to recover from the landing, and then lifted his head to scrutinize the damage. He ducked his head when a bird (maybe the same one from before) zipped over and into the night.

Aeolus's first instinct was to run. So as the Bloodler glanced over them with some intrigue, he slowly backed up, hoping that perhaps he could just slip away from the scene.

The siblings scooted aside the best they could when Aeolus went to jump up, and Elric reached down to help him up... but the bird startled him pretty badly too. Sable just flinched, putting her arm up in front of her face, a single golden feather from her hood fluttering down from the motion. The male sibling hit the ground and cracked the ice again, grumbling to himself.

"It's just a bird you two, my goodness," she said, surprised that they jumped like they did. Leaning over to peer into the cab, she sniffed the air a few times as she inspected it, and her brother recovered and stood up, still rubbing his behind. Sable hopped back down next to him, watching Aeolus cautiously.

"I just jumped because he-" his sister suddenly held up her hand, silencing him, "Hear that?"

"Yes. It sounds like a flying Zoid or some-" they both froze, eyes widening, when the Redler landed near them. Elric fixed his sister with a satisfied smirk. "Told you,"

Sable tilted her head at the Redler, watching it as it looked them over, not looking at Aeolus as he took a few steps away. "You do realize that leaving the scene of an accident is a serious crime, right?" she said suddenly, loud enough that Aeolus would hear, but still didn't look at him. Her brother perked up, snapping his head over to look at him intently.

Sable glanced around, noticing that there wasn't much of anyone around, and pulled out her phone to report the accident. She was more then a little surprised to see that she wasn't getting service out here, and frowned again.

Thankfully, that wasn't literal — it simply would not do if he simply dropped dead right there, although he was greatly bewildered by how he'd been caught. It hardly helped that the Bloodler glanced over to look at him. Feeling much like a deer caught in headlights, he stayed uneasily where he stood, wondering how the young woman had known. Aeolus shuddered as a chill sparked through his veins. He wanted to pursue his friend or, better yet, find his way out of there, but it appeared that such an option was now invalid. Meekly he folded his thumbs into his pockets and bowed his head, and he proceeded to observe the scene.

There was no way he was getting near that truck.

The Bloodler scanned the area for another brief, quiet moment. He noted the blank slate of the trailer and wondered immediately as to what its contents were. A distant sound of mechanical footfalls made the zoid turn his head down the street, although there was nothing to be seen, and he decided that it was best to attend to the little ones who had found their way here. The Bloodler bowed his head toward them.

Is all well? he rumbled to the three, and his voice emerged in the low, roughened tone of a battle-worn man. Which one of you was driving that vehicle? I must say, you all look too young to fit the bill... Indeed, most truck drivers were older and bigger men. These were hardly more than children. He scanned the cab for a sign of someone else, but his scanners picked up nothing from visual or auditory feedback.

Aeolus, meanwhile, had noticed the strange woman with her phone, and he realized that he could resort to his own phone as well. He reached into his pockets for the item and found nothing. He searched through the mysterious coat's pockets and found nothing. Aeolus was convinced that it had to be somewhere on his person, but the more he searched, the more a certain despair fell over and clouded his mind. The young man eventually gave up and hesitantly sat down, unable to find the strength to answer the Bloodler.

Automatically, he felt his eyes pulled to a sight in the distance: a path winding up the mountain. He was no good with his eyes in the dark, and yet he could spot a tiny pair of headlights creeping up that path and disappearing into the wintry mist. &#9632;

Sable was frowning as she put her phone back in her pocket, since it was essentially useless to her right now. Without any other direction, she ambled over to the Bloodler without any concern, looking up at him when she stopped within feet of his face. "We're alright. I think he's alright," she looked over at Aeolus, sitting nearby and staring off into the distance somewhere.

"The thing was empty when we looked! I didn't see anyone get out, though. And he nearly got hit by it," this time, she gestured at Aeolus with a lazy waggle of her arm, "...come to think of it, I wonder what's in it,"

"Sis, don't," Elric murmured, backing away from the truck as if he had just realized that there could be something unpleasant inside it. "What if it's something big and mean, like an Organoid or something?"

Sable was already to the truck when he said that, and she rolled her eyes and her whole head, giving him a look that plainly said that she wasn't concerned in the least and thought he was crazy for being so cautious. She continued over, walking around the truck and pondering if she should open it and see what was inside.

Her brother had backed away enough to stand by Aeolus, and peered down at him silently. What bothered him was the severe lack of anyone around... had nobody heard the crash? Was nobody going to call the cops? He got out his own phone, and found it out of service, much like his sister's.

The Bloodler regarded them with intrigue while Sable gave her story. All that would certainly explain the crash and the absence of a driver — well, somewhat — and he swiveled his head toward the truck, scrutinizing its details once more. Still, nothing stuck out to him aside from the fact that it was unmarked. That could suggest a number of things.

Aeolus was staring at the spot where the headlights had vanished. His perception of his immediate surroundings must have been clouded, as now he was entirely fixated on that one spot, the mist blurring his vision on all sides and every sense pricked in that direction, hoping to find something, hoping for an answer or maybe some spontaneous portal home. A song began in quiet tones to rise from his throat. He hummed something soft and low, almost brooding in nature, and yet with the soothing tones of a lullaby. He hardly picked up on the things that the others said.

When Sable proceeded to inspect the truck, the Bloodler followed her and ambled to the back of the trailer. Allow me, he thrummed, and he pressed his claws into the back and jerked on the panel several times. It was not an immediate success and the Bloodler ended up scooting the vehicle around with his attempts, and it raised plenty of noise that should have aroused those sleeping nearby. But rather than anyone come out, it was almost as if children pulled their blankets over their heads and huddled down, men and women plugging their ears or hiding underneath pillows or simply in very deep slumber.

Not even the screeching of claws or the pounding of the truck seemed to stir Aeolus. He only turned his head when a groan finally disturbed the stillness of his world: the Bloodler extracting the trailer's dented door. It was carelessly thrown to the icy sidewalk and the zoid poked his head in. Blue light from his optics fell upon the contents: boxes — supposedly with the disassembled contents of dining tables — various types of chairs, and boxes of fine china secured in crates.

Still, Aeolus refused to get near the truck. He stared vacantly toward the fallen vehicle, eyes glazed over, and then he turned his head toward the unarmed Climber Wolf that emerged from the gloom.

"How you folks doing?" the female pilot greeted. Her zoid slowed to a brief stop beside the truck, although she seemed to look right over it. "Going to the party? You don't look like you're from around here." &#9632;

Elric frowned as a noise floated to his ears that hadn't been there before. Silently, he turned his head to look down at Aeolus as he was seemingly off in his own little world. The boy made a bewildered whirring noise, looking up at the sound of the truck being dragged around and wincing. He noticed something on the ground, though, and walked over once the Bloodler was done dragging the truck around.

Hoping to get out of the way, Sable stood back next to the Bloodler's paw that was still resting on the ground, going so far as to lean against it while she watched. The noise didn't seem to bother her, though she narrowed her eyes and coiled her head back.

The door of the trailer finally snapped open, and she hopped over to peer inside. Nothing interesting... or at least nothing too interesting. She crept halfway in to inspect the contents, slightly disappointed when they were nothing more then party supplies. "Pfff,"

She straightened up and looked around just before the other Zoid appeared, watching it as it came to a stop. Her brother was picking up something off of the ground, and the person in the Wolf was talking.

"Party?" she immediately perked up, the feathers on the rim of her hood fluffing up intently. "We aint from around here, actually. What party?" she asked, not hearing her brother groan as he straightened up, something shiny in his hand.

"The party up in the mountains!" the woman chimed, her wolf gesturing toward the distant path. "It's that time again. These folks in this mansion hold a party every time the moons'r full, just for the heck of it. They know everybody here. Though," and here her zoid padded forward with some acknowledgment of the truck this time, "I reckon nobody really knows who hosts it any more. We all just flock up there and start partying!"

Aeolus regarded the Climber Wolf with ever-heightening suspicion and glanced to the sky at the mention of the moons. They were peering through a crack in the clouds, throwing shafts of amber and blue and violet across the curtains of snow. There was no way he spontaneously turned up here for some party. Aeolus loved parties, but honestly he would much rather turn tail and run at the moment.

Although he did consider that perhaps his friend Bond would be there.

"You folks should consider dropping by," the pilot finished, and her wolf proceeded to amble down the street, ignoring the truck once more.

Aeolus and the Bloodler glanced after the disappearing zoid. Neither of them wanted to call out to it or the pilot, though the twins certainly could if they wanted to. The Bloodler inclined his head toward the others and said, Come to think of it, I may have seen that mansion. It's in a fair little villa, perfectly secluded but accessible from the road. He stomped toward the truck and poked his head into the trailer once more. I'd wondered why so many people were there.

"I wanna go," Aeolus said without even thinking, and it took him a few moments to register that he'd said anything at all. He blinked and glanced to the others in mild surprise. &#9632;

Sable followed the wolf's gesture, looking excited and quivering with it. The idea of a party seemed to be right up her alley, moreso then mysterious trucks with no drivers and party supplies in them. Come to think of it, was that where the truck was headed to?

Elric didn't miss the 'full moon' part of it, and looked suspicious, pursing his lips and looking grumpy. He looked up when Aeolus did, a different expression crossing his frowning face.

The sister looked at her brother when the Wolf left, a bright grin on her face.

"I don't like it, sis,"

"Oh c'mon, it'll be fun,"

"There is something wrong with this place. You can feel it too,"

She rolled her eyes, turning halfway to see the flying Zoid as it spoke to them, nodding along with him. "Yeah, I bet this truck was headed up there," she stopped, even though she seemed like she had more to say, and Aeolus spoke up. The girl fixed her brother with a smug grin at his gape.

"It's settled then! Hey mister, flip this thing back upright, please? We have a party to get to~" she beamed up at the Bloodler.

Elric, seeing that he didn't have a say in the matter, sighed and walked over to Sable, handing her what he had in his hand, "You're molting again," he mumbled, handing her a golden feather, similar to the ones on the rim of her hood. She gasped and stamped her foot, reaching back to feel, "Man..."

But when the truck was upright and the back closed, she perked right up and bolted for the drivers door, "Come on you two!"

"Dad is going to be so mad at us," Elric mumbled, not moving till Aeolus moved.

Certainly, obliged the Bloodler, happy to assist. He nudged his claw underneath the vehicle and pushed it upright, careful not to scoot it around any more than he already had, and the truck groaned as it slowly eased back onto its wheels. The sound echoed wearily down the desolate streets, fading out to nothing but black and white.

Aeolus watched the Bloodler assess the back, then allowed himself to watch the distant path. Already the Climber Wolf was gone, swallowed either by the faint fog or the night. Funny, he couldn't tell exactly how dark it was — it was hard to distinguish between darkness and fog for some reason. Why did this remind him of a game? He scratched his head, and then he started when a pair of dogs darted across the street. One stumbled on the ice and fell with a fantastic whumpf. But the creature immediately scrabbled to its feet and chased after its companion in silence, and Aeolus wondered what kinds of dogs they were and what they were doing together.

The blue-eyed Bloodler determined that he hadn't damaged the back too badly and managed to shut the thing, and he turned his head when Sable ran for the drivers door. He could have smiled for this, as it was always pleasant to see children enjoying themselves. Some ancient memory tugged at the back of his mind from some accompanying sense of nostalgia. Yet as always, it never revealed itself to him, so he ignored the nostalgia and carefully stepped across the ice to give himself more takeoff space.

Be careful! he advised, and he waited for them to start.

Aeolus stared after the woman with some alarm and some disbelief. He turned his head to see that the other one had not moved, and he stiffened as if this was a threat, simply staring at Elric with something much like wariness in his stare. And then he remembered that it was cold. Perhaps it was warmer inside the truck. Finding nothing better to do — and that maybe it was better not to just run the hell away anyway — he picked his way toward the truck, wondering if they even knew how to drive one. Aeolus certainly wasn't the one driving.

...Right? he silently asked, for he simply did not know what to expect. Aeolus grimaced slightly at the sky, gave the blue-eyed Bloodler one nervous glance, and climbed in. &#9632;

Sable practically launched herself into the cab, sitting in the driver's seat and grinning over the wheel. She didn't seem bothered by the thought of driving the thing, so surely she knew how to, right?

Her brother walked over to the passenger's side while Aeolus was still standing around. He looked alarmed, "Sis, this cab is awfully small," he hissed, looking around. She didn't appear to hear him, making sure the keys were in the ignition and fumbling with the starter to get it to start.

"Hm? It's not that bad,"

"Sis..." he whined, and glanced over at Aeolus as he started to pick his way over, "He's going to notice," he whispered urgently.

A look crossed Sable's face that didn't entirely seem like it belonged. She looked pissed for a second, slowly turning her head to glare and make him wilt, "You can keep up your concentration for ten minutes, right? He's not going to notice... relax,"

Her expression immediately brightened up when Aeolus appeared behind her brother, "Well, come on then,"

Elric sighed and hauled himself up into the cab, which wobbled back and fourth quite a bit. He situated himself next to his sister, reaching for the seatbelts since his sister was already buckled in. It seemed unusually cramped in the cab, but nothing too unbearable. Which was weird, because the cab wasn't that small... it just felt cramped.

"So I don't think we ever caught your name, hun. I'm Sable Kerberos, and this is my brother Elric," she said merrily over at Aeolus, easing the vehicle into gear and heading after the Climber Wolf. Elric wiggled his fingers stiffly from where he was half curled up closer to his sister then Aeolus.

Something was bothering him. Even as he approached the cab, Aeolus felt something weigh down on his innards, a collective...burden of wariness and...suspicion. The young man still could not quite identify it, not even when he drew near, but he hesitated to get into the cab. It felt like there wasn't any room. Even though he was relatively small in build and there appeared to be plenty of space, he felt as if he simply could not squeeze his way in. Aeolus nervously fidgeted with the white fur collar on his coat.

As it turned out, he could squeeze in after all, although he did feel strangely tight inside the cab. Yet despite the bizarre events and having almost been run over, Aeolus tried his best to put on a friendly face. He silently willed for his heart to stop beating so hard and for his nerves to cool. He lounged out, told himself to relax, let out a quiet sigh as his muscles and bones eased up. There was still a sensation of being cramped where he sat, but Aeolus ignored it.

He glanced over when the woman introduced herself and her brother and, to even his own surprise, grinned in response. "Aeolus," he replied with practiced confidence. Aeolus regarded his own tone with wonder, somewhat proud that even with his nerves still buzzing he could make himself sound perfectly unperturbed. Wasn't he jittery and jumping just a moment ago? He decided to wave it off and glanced over the two, attempting to fit their names to their faces. Funny, their was something about their faces that didn't...quite...

"Sable and Elric," he mumbled, assessing them. "Sable and Elric... Sorry, I'm bad with names." Aeolus grinned sheepishly, and then he leaned out the window on his side to get a look at the streets. "To the party, then?"

The blue-eyed Bloodler glanced curiously over the truck. He could have sworn he'd felt something, but he decided it must have been either his imagination or paranoia from being an old zoid. Why, living for countless years would surely do that to one. He serenely waited for the truck to make its way down the road, and when it had advanced enough he would take off and follow them for the mansion, even lead them if they did not know the way. The path seemed simple enough, but even then... At any rate, the Bloodler didn't see why not accompany them there. It seemed interesting enough. &#9632;

Sable listened to the engine rumble and hum, feeling the cab vibrate slightly even though it felt weighed down. She didn't seem bothered by anything, even though her brother still looked a little unsure. "Nice to meetcha, Aeolus,"

Her brother smiled a little, and Sable started the vehicle and headed after the Wolf. They bumped along slowly through the snow and ice, Sable humming a quiet tune for a few seconds before she quieted. Elric frowned when she did, and slowly looked over at Aeolus. More specifically, his chest where his heart was frantically thumping. He looked away quickly after his sister elbowed him in the side.

She chuckled as if nothing had happened, "Our pops is horrible with names too. He can remember faces easily but can't for the life of him remember names."

"He's gotten better," Elric pointed out with a smirk.

The twins chuckled as the mansion came into view. Both of them perked up with some degree of excitement and interest at the sight, and Sable tried to find somewhere to park so they could get out and head to the party.

Riley White, a man covered in armor, and a cloak stood motionless as a car seem to pulled up to were he stood...It looked like he had stood there for long because of all the snow that had accumulated on top of him. His eyes hid in the shadows of his armor, but were fixed on the people inside the vehicle.

What business did he have here. And why was he wearing all that armor. What did he think he was a knight or something? Either way the man looked as if he were a statue. One could only assume he was a part of the decoration of the marvelous mansion that stood close by.

As he stood and watched the car pull up, a young girl dressed in a heavy white furred coat came rushing by, as if she appeared out of the shadows of the night.

She stopped dead in her tracks towards the side of the "Statue", and then began to huff and puff. The girl plopped down onto the ground and looked down trying to catch her breath...

When she finally caught her breath she looked up at the "statue", and grinned. "I..Found yuh." C:

As she said this the man, let off a "hmmm..." Without looking down at the girl...

The girl got up and finally begun to register the fact that a car was in her presence. The young girl Stood up and shook a bit of snow off of her before bringing her hand over her eyes as the blinding light grew brighter and brighter...

She did not in no way notice the Giant War machine in the background , and instead of moving out of the way the girl and the man stood there expecting whoever was coming, to stop.

Whether or not they noticed the girl and the Armored "statue" in front of them were their decision... "Umm... Riley?" Are these your friends?"

The Climber Wolf eventually padded up to where the mansion was situated. The path up until then had been predictably foggy and obscure, winding around one of the mountains and then cutting into the depths where the villa was located. Plenty of cars and zoids were parked about the yard. Despite the snow and ice, the fountain was still burbling pleasantly, and a few of the zoids were even having their own party around it. One Helcat appeared to be dancing while the others just watched and swayed with the classical overtures sounding from within the mansion.

A woman, dressed as prettily as she could in black, poked her head out of the entrance. She did not appear to notice the man in armor or the girl. She did not even acknowledge the truck that had pulled in. All the woman had eyes for was the Climber Wolf, to which she raised a hand and let out an ecstatic, "Hey there!"

The pilot of the Wolf disembarked. She, too, appeared to be clad in all black, although she had to settle for something less formal to accommodate the ride. "Hiya!" she called back with a grin. The pilot immediately dashed for the entrance and joined with her friend, where they immediately burst into frenzied gossip as they retreated into the mansion. Their shadows stretched out against the soft lighting of the interior that unfurled onto the stairs, and then silently they disappeared inside.

Aeolus noted that there was still a lot of snow on the ground, thrown about by the zoids that were dancing. He also noted what the music was. There hadn't been a mention of it being a formal party, just a...party. Aeolus was comfortable with the casual types; he had never been to a formal one. Right away he began to doubt that Bond was here at all, and he pressed his lips into a grim line for it, but he figured he ought to give it a shot nevertheless. Strange happenings were afoot, he knew. Aeolus pulled his head back in and opened the door even before it had come to a stop, although he was not about to leap out until it did.

Classical, he mused with somewhat uneasy entertainment. I do like classical... This couldn't be too bad...

The blue-eyed Bloodler circled overhead, regarding everyone below. There were the stock zoids that just stood around, there were cars, and then there were the parties. He zoomed in momentarily on a suit of armor and a girl beside it, and quickly he detected signs of life within the suit and cloak. Strange. That seemed eerily familiar. The Bloodler shook it off and wondered where he ought to land, if at all. Perhaps he would just settle for the rooftop. How were they going to move the furniture, though? Or were they just intending to leave the truck there and let someone else handle it? &#9632;

Sable found somewhere to stop the vehicle near the building, just in case the things inside the truck were actually needed for something inside. The fact that they were even driving the mysterious delivery truck was gone from her mind as she gleefully hopped out, arms spread wide like she was flying.

Elric stayed in his seat, staring at the man in armor and the girl next to him, right in front of the truck like they were. He narrowed his eyes and growled at them for a second, hair poofing out like hackles.

"Are you coming?"

"Yeah," he flattened his hair as he slid out the same side as his sister, and he skittered around the back side over to Aeolus. Without thinking about it, Sable followed him, and clapped her hands as she looked over the mansion in front of them.

"Just like one of dad's stupid parties, eh?" Sable said to her sibling, tilting her head to listen to the music. Elric fluffed up a little bit, almost like he was offended, "I like the parties with music like this,"

Sable smiled sideways at him while she looked around, spotting all the zoids. She seemed to consider them all, "Think we should call Jugger and Cyclone?"

"Nooo, let's not. Jugger will annoy everyone," he made a face at the thought. They stood in silence, just taking in the sights of the building and the snow around it. Sable was either adamantly ignoring the other two or really hadn't noticed them yet.

"Well... are we going in or what?" she looked to the two boys to make sure they weren't about to chicken out on her. As they headed inside, Sable looked over at Aeolus again, curiosity in her eyes, "So, if you weren't here for the party, what are you doing in a little place like this? My brother and I were just out for some fun for a little while,"

Riley didn't say a word. Like usual. He didn't move. He was just there, motionless. And this kinda bugged the young girl. She wanted to explore the party that was going on, but she was was a bit shy. She looked over at the people who had just arrived in the vehicle. Though she quickly stopped staring, when she caught a gimps of a guy staring at her.

"Come on Riley, come with me over there!" The Girl insisted. But the man in the suit of armor would not budge. Or maybe he couldn't budge. Standing their for a while in the cold and snow had frozen the armor's joints. The man simply could not move, and Asuka did not know this. and he was the quiet type.

"Whats wrong Riley?" the girl asked.

"... Can't move..."The man replied

"Why not? o_o"

"... Don't know..." The man had never encountered snow for the longest. He had come to the mansion with rumors ,from the nearest town ,that there was a purple Zabat flying around the area. Usually it didn't take long to find a purple Zabat. He searched for a bit, while Asuka followed closely behind for the luls. She was both bored and full of energy after going over the operating systems of the Great Whale king, so she decided to go after Riley. Her crazy dark horn, edge, wasn't too far behind.

Well this was something out of the ordinary. A man stuck in a suit of armor, couldn't move because the snow and cold had frozen the joints. A mansion with a large party going on, and a little girl there with no real purpose.

She thought about the situation at hand, and came to a conclusion. "I know, I'll go find a lighter , you're probably stuck from the frost. " The Girl was intelligent despite her looks and youth. But she was shy. So going up to people to ask for something would take a lot out of her.

She slowly and steadily walked over to were the few people had just exited the Vehicle, and politely interrupted them for a while.

"E.. Excuse me. Do any of you have a lighter I can borrow.? " She was nervous but partly held it in . Her right hand fiddled with her hair a bit. Her eyes weakly met the others. Her ears were not focused on the music that was playing, but on an answer.

Aeolus slipped out onto the snow and felt himself sink with a pleasant crunch. There was a scarcity of air about the place, perhaps just from altitude, and it made him nervous. His zoid training had been in the desert climate, not on top of the mountains, and coupled with his unpleasant experience with flying zoids, he simply did not like the sensation. Shortness of breath was the last thing Aeolus needed in this place.

He glanced up when Sable addressed him and stuffed his hands into his pockets. "I was looking for a friend," Aeolus admitted. He shuffled his hands restlessly in his pockets and a something cold touched his fingertips. It took him a moment to register this, but when he did, he closed his fingers around it and felt the object, attempting to identify it just by the shape and feel.

A strange girl approached, asking about a lighter or something of the sort. Without giving it even a single thought, Aeolus drew out the item as if he'd known it was a lighter all along. He flipped open the cap and offered it to the girl.

"Here you go," said Aeolus with a warm smile, green and red eyes flickering — even though, deep inside, he was fairly disturbed at this point. He kept his voice steady and continued, "Yeah, I guess we ought to go inside. Too cold to stand out here all night."

The Bloodler finally settled for sitting on the roof. Something about this place bothered him, although he could not quite put his claw on it. There was something...substantial? Something that overlapped this plane of existence, even. He cast his gaze over the other zoids and considered questioning them a bit about it. They all seemed busy, though — or at least not willing to speak. And you couldn't hold a conversation with a stock zoid, not even through frequencies.

Well, the doors were wide open. It would be a long, lavishly decorated hallway, lined with classic paintings as if the inhabitants were fairly old-fashioned. Someone had already knocked over a vase of flowers, but there were plenty more along the hallway to make up for it. At the end would be a large lobby, in which a few partygoers were hanging about. Most would be in formal wear, although there were those who just didn't care about what they wore.

The twins swiveled their heads around to look at the girl as she started to approach them. Sable was curious, while Elric didn't look too happy about it. He didn't bristle or anything, because it was nothing more then a little girl.

"Ah..." Sable patted her pockets, coat and pants, but could only give the girl a shrug and an apologetic smile, "Nope, sorry,"

"Me neither," the brother said, but he didn't bother to check himself. He knew he didn't have anything of the sort. Luckily for the girl, Aeolus came to the rescue with a lighter, which earned a bit of a weird look from the both of them.

Sable quickly waved it off, though. "Did you find your friend?" she asked Aeolus, though she kind of figured she already knew the answer.

She was the first one up the steps when they reached them, and went right into the entrance hall like she was invited and everything. Her brother was a little more reserved, staying behind Aeolus and looking around. "I feel so under-dressed. We're going to stick out so much,"

"If you're worried, we could call Jugger and Cyclone to bring us something," Sable stopped looking around the hall and at Aeolus, "What do you think?"

"Wonder why everyone's wearing black," he observed, looking at what people were clustered around where they could see. He looked back outside to see if the girl and the armored man were following them, if they'd thawed the poor guy out by now.

Asuka heart was falling from every negative she received, but it quickly took to new heights when the the last guy with his mysterious green and red eyes smiled, and offered her his lighter. Asuka instantly began to blush. She then let off a bright smile to the stranger before receiving it.

"Thank you sir!" She said before speeding off back to Riley. The whole time she was working on getting Riley unstuck, she continued to blush. Maybe attracted to the man's eyes, she was confused over these sudden feelings she was beginning to have. Riley's "little girl crush" sensor began to alarm as he stiffly watched the girl work in all out disorder.

"Foolish..." He thought to himself. He was also thinking about how he'd love to get back to Amaterasu , the Great whale king, and look for another trail leading to other purple Zabats. All he could think of at this point was Zabat, Zabat, Zabat. But of course that's all he ever thought of. The armored man began to move more and more as Asuka waved about a flaming tree branch around his body. This might have attracted a lot of attention, but she continued for the next minute or so before finally killing the fire. Hopefully nobody would yell at them for what the girl was doing.

Riley was now able to move. The man stretched his arms and then legs before patting Asuka on the head, as to say good job. Asuka was use to his ultra quiet attitude by now, but she wasn't focused on that for that second. She was also pretty quiet at that moment. Her cheeks were still red, despite of the coldness. Her eyes glazed down at the lighter the man left her, as her mind day dreamed. Riley was already annoyed at the fact of another failed lead, so he began to walk away from the mansion.

Asuka, not noticing she was walking, began to follow behind, but something clicked in her head. "Wait Riley!, W-we have to gvie this back! D:"

"-.- ..."

"They went inside, over there! " The little girl pointed toward the direction of the mansion's entrance. Didn't take long for Riley to walk over to were the girl requested. Asuka followed the armored man behind closely as she grew closer to the activities around her.

"Don't forget about Zabat..." The man mumbled, to the little girl. Which translated to " I want you to talk for me, and ask about a Zabat sighting around here." Asuka nodded, her eyes filled with happiness as she squished the snow bellow her, and held the lighter tightly, in her hands.

As they reached the stairs Asuka felt weary. She suddenly felt like she was invading a phantom's territory. That feeling brought her to a stand still, as the Armored man continued to walk up the stairs. Riley noticed Asuka not following him, so he turned around to look down at his comrade. What he saw was a little girl spacing out for no reason, so he grabbed some snow off the ground and made a sturdy snowball. The man threw it at her head lightly. Asuka flinched an took the blow. She brought her hands to her head were the snowball had hit, befor snapping back to reality. "Whats that for Riley?!"

The Armored man proceeded into walking inside the mansion, and the girl finally got the picture, before racing up the stairs. It was a wonder she didn't slip or anything.

Aeolus stepped carefully through the snow, his hands in his coat pockets and his hair bobbing softly against his shoulders, flecks of snow camouflaged within the milky locks. He blinked away what flakes had fallen into his eyelashes and glanced up to the sky. The moons were still visible through crevices in the clouds, accentuating the scenery with their ever-phantasmal lighting. He wanted to let his mind wander, feeling its pull on the edges of his mind, and yet the gravity of the situation overshadowed that.

"No, I haven't found him yet," he answered, moving forward with unease. His stride in the snow was light and swift, albeit a little clumsy from here to there. Snow could be like or unlike sand at times. He was fairly accustomed to sandy terrains, although he had not experienced them in a long time. "Can't say I expected to find him in there."

As Aeolus hopped up the steps to the entrance, he gave the girl and the armored man a respecting nod. Aeolus did not expect his lighter back. Really, he didn't know if it was even his. He was fairly certain the coat was his, but he did not remember leaving a lighter in one of the pockets. Then again, he had not worn the thing in a while. While he strode into the mansion, Aeolus tried to recall a time when he might have held the lighter, might have slipped it into his pocket. He had the sense that he had stolen it from a friend and snuck off with it. But he also had the sense that it had been something else, not the lighter. Aeolus hated that feeling.

" — forget — Zabat —"

He stopped just as he stepped across the threshold, one foot inside, one outside. The first thing that sprang to mind when he thought of a Zabat was his teammate. Rosen was the only one he knew with a Zabat. The man had a less-than-admirable record of criminal history and a many more cover-ups, and yet he was not one to often get into trouble. Aeolus decided to dismiss the bits of talk and proceeded like nothing was wrong. After all, his keen hearing was more of a luxury than a necessity. Sometimes, it was even a nuisance.

The paintings were distracting. Maybe he just had a curious eye, but Aeolus could not refrain from glancing at each and every thing that existed there. He even stopped to examine the petals on one of the flowers, where he confirmed that the flowers were fake. Aeolus let part of his mind ponder this while the rest of it urged him to move on. It would only be a matter of time before his attention was totally captivated by the partygoers.

"Sticking out like a sore thumb," he commented cheerfully, brightening when the people came into view. "Crashing the party. Aww, yeah." Aeolus fluffed his hair up, taking care to comb his fingers through the locks and let the snow melt. Shadows flickered across the screens of his eyes as he observed the partygoers. The music sounded as if it originated from further within the mansion, perhaps just beyond the door situated between the two stairwells arcing up to the balcony of the second floor.

My, this place is fancy.

The sight of people often calmed him, but their choice of clothing did little to settle his spirits. Aeolus opted to uphold his guise of optimism and sauntered straight into the crowd, innocently interrogating random persons along the way if they had seen his friend, a dirty blonde with tan skin and brown eyes and just as black as everyone else at the party. It seemed that no one in the lobby had spotted Bond, so Aeolus decided he would proceed to what was probably the dance floor beyond that door.

He did wonder if Sable and Elric were going to stick with him. After all, they were out for fun, and the mansion looked large enough to slake their needs.

The girl and the man in armor did follow them, or at least they were coming up the steps and through the front door. Elric watched them from over his shoulder, until he realized his sister was ambling after Aeolus, who was heading deeper inside.

"Have you ever crashed a party before? I haven't," she said as she followed behind Aeolus, carefully navigating around people. She shook snow off of her hood and shoulders, leaving a small trail that quickly melted.

"We're not actually crashing it, are we?" Elric whispered urgently as he caught up, weaving after them cautiously.

"Technically I guess we are? We weren't invited," she winked when the look on her brother's face fell. As they weaved through, she covertly snatched a top hat from one of the gentlemen not paying attention, and once they were past, she plopped it on her brother's head, straightening the blue feather on it.

"What are you do-"

"You needed a hat," she tipped her fedora at him, and unbuttoned her coat since it was a lot warmer in this place. She also checked her chest wrappings to make sure they hadn't come undone. That would be embarrassing.

"So we're looking for your friend, and some food. They have food at parties, right?" Sable went on her tip toes for a second, looking around for any sign of it. Her brother shook his head, "You're so much like dad..."

Asuka couldn't bring her self to confronting the man who had given her the lighter. She just became ridiculously shy. When Riley stepped inside the building he fixed his eyes on the people around him. Originally he was going to leave after the whole, "I'm stuck" ordeal, but Asuka might have led him the right way. HE continued on into the place without saying a word. Walked inside and simply vanished from sight...

When Asuka reached inside the first thing she did was shake her self off. Like a dog. The second thing she did was look around. She was amazed at how fancy the place was. She'd never seen such luxury before. Her mouth dropped as she gazed around forgetting about her objective for the moment.

"Wow Riley, this place is pretty... " :L She told her friend who had left without saying a word. Asuka gazed around some more, while she continued walking. She could see the two others who had walked in with the guy, she was crushing on, not too far from were she was. She finally remembered her objective after seeing the people dress in black. That made her a bit tense. But they were partying so she wasn't really frightened.

Looking up at a dotted out line of Riley for comfort, her eyes practically bulged out of her head.

"Riley!?"O.o

The teen looked around for the armored man, and gave up after the first moments of noticing his disappearance.

"Were did he go now?" She thought to her self as she folded her arms, feeling...

With the double doors wide open, Aeolus and the others now had a good view of the second room. By then it was clear the classical music was coming from this very room, which was an expansive chamber generously embellished with all sorts of decorations, ivory marble dotted with dancers in black. Women twirled across the floor and men tapped glasses in a toast to something even they were unsure of.

The young man took a moment to take it all in. He hardly heard anything the others said, too engrossed in attempting to adjust to the change in setting, a little more than overwhelmed by the vastness of the room and the weight of all its formalities. In one corner a couple were having a light chat, in another two or three people were laughing, in another some lone man adjusted his bowtie.

Aeolus was more than confused. The slightly roguish behavior of the woman from before — the one with the Climber Wolf — did not match the behavior of these people in the slightest. Were they even from the town? They all had a sophisticated air about them, and he found it to be a little intimidating. He did not know where to start. Bond was becoming less and less of a concern now, for Aeolus soon found his head exploding with questions about this place.

"Care to dance?"

He jumped to see a woman practically materialize in front of him. She was roughly about the same age, slender, lavishly decorated in black like all the others, and her eyes were of different colors. Just like his. Unlike his, however, one eye was yellow and the other blue.

"...What?" he answered dumbly.

"Dance, silly. Or do you not know how?"

Taken off guard by this, Aeolus glanced around. Everyone was — well, it wasn't even a waltz, but the dance seemed simple enough. He glanced over his shoulder at the others, wondering what their response to this was. He didn't have long to see.

"Here, I'll show you."

The woman snatched him by the arm and spirited him off into the crowd.

Several tables were placed around the room, all with refreshments of some kind. Sweets and sandwiches had been arranged, bowls of juice or water thoughtfully placed between glasses waiting to be filled, accompanied with bottles of wine or simple cans of beer.

In the far back of the room were another two staircases and more double doors. In addition was a door on the left wall and a door on the right.

Sable whistled, impressed, at the grand circular room that they found themselves in now. They looked unusually out of place, clad in their piloting clothes that they wore, but Sable took it completely in stride.

"I do say old chap, smashing party isn't it?"

Her conversational voice made him slowly turn his head to stare at him, and he nearly fell right over when she pulled a pipe from her coat and put it in her mouth. "You don't smoke,"

She gave him a sour, sideways look, but turned her head and leaned so the pipe was but an inch from his nose, and puffed as she jutted her bottom lip out. Instead of smoke, a few shining bubbles leaked out, which Elric regarded with a frown.

"Aeolus just got stolen while you were playing around, by the way,"

"I know," she puffed another few bubbles at him, and went back to looking around. No dancing for them, no sir...

"Well since Aeolus is occupied at the moment... hey, you think they have any silverware?" she perked up, heading for the food without waiting for a response. Her brother, surprisingly, instead of being annoyed, smirked and followed after her.

"What do you think the party is about? I mean like, it feels weird," he whispered once they had found some punch and some silverware. The siblings were standing off to the side, contemplating the other people in the room, and talking in low voices. Sable shrugged, "Who knows, but if you're that worried, go ask someone,"

Elric just grunted, but didn't actually do anything, just suspiciously watching everyone.

The Young girl's ears sorta flinched a bit once the Double doors opened. She didn't exactly see them open because she was pretty much facing the opposite direction, contemplating whether or not it was worth staying with Riley. But as the music echoed throughout her ears, she looked back and caught a glimpse of the others who she had just followed in. Even though she was beginning to loose interest in returning the lighter to the man, she was at least more than curious to know what this whole event was. And since her comrade vanished without trace, she was certain he'd want her to go in and explore. Maybe ask some people about a Zabat sighting.

Asuka was different from most girls her age. She possessed an insane amount of information in her head. Even though her emotions sometimes hold that intelligence back, she would sometimes calculate what it was that held her back, and discard them. "Ok. I like this guy. He's cute. But. I have a mission to do. And helping Riley find his Zabat is an important one. I can't afford to keep drooling over him. And as for this lighter..." The girl took it out and looked at it for a second, before returning it back in her coat pocket. "I'll just forget about it.

Asuka looked for were she could find a coat rack or something. The coat she had on was heavy duty, and caused heat within her body to build up viciously indoors. She looked around a bit, before deciding to toss it in a corner somewhere. "That's it for the heat." the girl said to herself as she fixed her long black hair. Her hair had some magenta streaks in it. Some of her hair was stuck on her face s, she moved some back from her bright blue eyes. Her cloths were dark, but not all black. She had a dark brown sweater. Over that a close fitting jeans jacket, with a red and gray scarf wrapped around her neck. Actually went well with her black jeans . Most likely Chinatsu helped her out with this combo.

When she was done fixing her self up she decided to start moving. As she wondered through the double doors, her eyes brightened even more than it had. She had stopped briefly, just to get a feel of the place. Of coarse she couldn't help but have her jaw drop slightly. she wasn't use to places like these. She took note on how the people danced. She somehow not come to notice the man she'd been crushing on was dancing with somebody. That's only because her nose spoke to her, before she could continue registering the way the people danced. You see. Food was in her presence, and she was a cook first, and a eater 2nd.

"I wonder what kind of treats these people are eating here. I bet its delicious, and I can make it for the team later." She thought to herself as her feet lead her to a table. She took up a few things, and again took note on them. She was afraid to try the punch though. If it had alcohol in it she wouldn't know how to take it. But the munchies she'd been stuffing in her mouth tasting had made her mouth dry. The water bowl at that particular area had been finished. As her mouth continued to bother her, she looked around and to her surprise the two she'd had followed earlier had been within feet from her.

Asuka walked over to them, looked up, and gave sort of a shy smile. "Excuse me. Did the punch have any alcohol in it?"

At least, it would be that way for Asuka. The temperature would be bearable at first, even normal. But in a matter of seconds, it would be as if something had sucked the warmth straight out of the air, and with it life itself. The surroundings would seem to desaturate, the shadows close in, and the flashing dresses and tuxedos and occasional tophat seemed mere shades of what was truly there. That was to say: nothing.

To put it simply, it was as if they stood amid ghosts.

But despite the spike of chill and the dimming of lights (surely someone had done that to set a mood), everything remained solid. Sweeps of warmth still washed over the chamber, perhaps simply from the masses of those who danced about and those who stood around, just about everyone enjoying the festivities or—as with the case of those drinking at a few tables—attempting to drown away their previous sorrows.

Quite a few seemed to have the wish to speak with one of the three, but every time someone drew near, he or she cast Sable and Elric a strange look before drawing away. In fact, everyone who came near (whether in passing, dancing, or approach) carried a look of suspicion on their faces, a few even with fear. This fear must have whispered itself through the crowds, because eventually no one dared to get near the twins.

But there was someone who dared to come near. He did not intend to speak with the siblings, however. He wished to speak with Asuka. And as it turned out, said someone was just a boy, a young teenager of sorts, brown hair cropped short and youthful features brimming with intelligence.

"Enjoying the party, miss?" he inquired, smiling pleasantly.

If anyone glanced out to the crowd, he or she might have noticed a red flash amongst all the black. With enough focus, that person would have spotted Aeolus (although it was indeterminable whether he was dancing with the same lady or not), who was wearing a pitch-black suit for some reason. And unlike the other men, who wore black bowties, he wore one that was red.

Crimson, even.

As for the punch, well, it really depended on which bowl you were looking at.

Elric was already completely on edge about this entire situation as it was. Every atom of his frame screamed that something was wrong, and he didn't need any special powers to believe such a thing. Not that he had any powers beyond just being human, mind you, but still...

So when the sudden cold and dark descended upon the room, upon them, he went stiff as a board, a growl rippling from his throat. It stopped abruptly in a yelp as his sister firmly planted her elbow in his ribcage, and Askua walked up a second later. He busied himself by chewing nervously on the spoon he had found, looking around with half predatory intent, half the look of a cornered animal.

"I don't think there is," Sable said to the girl, looking into her cup, "We're not exactly the best ones to ask, though. We don't get drunk very easily,"

Elric took note of everyone seemingly avoiding them, and it only set his metaphorical hackles even higher. He turned to mention this to his sister, but she had taken a few steps closer to the table, "Come on, we'll find one that doesn't have any alcohol in it," she said to the girl, leaning over the bowls and sniffing until she stopped at one, "This one is good,"

"You don't think uncle Dante is here, do you? It would explain why it suddenly got dark and cold," Elric said abruptly, looking suspiciously around at the shadows. "No... I think if he was here we'd know it," she looked at him, and noticed that he seemed really profoundly disturbed. "...is this place bothering you that badly?"

"Yes. There is something wrong here, you can't deny it Sable," he whispered, leaning close since he had remembered that Askua was right there. She huffed at him; normally she would have chided him for being such a coward, but she had to agree with him. And they couldn't afford to get into any danger...

Asuka was pleased that the woman replied, feeling as if she'd accomplished something. The method she was using to get over her shyness was working. Whatever it was. But the answer didn't give her any comfort. After all , she'd just noticed the dying lights, and the coldness biting at her finger tips. "oh.." She said. She wasn't paying attention to her dry mouth anymore. Something about the place seemed kinda spooky. Besides from Riley deserting her, which barely fazed her much, the place portrayed an eerie feeling.

"Come on, we'll find one that doesn't have any alcohol in it,"

"Oh. ok. Thank you she said. " The crack in her voice would give away her weakness. Her eyes looked around restlessly for something. but she herself wasn't understanding what exactly as she looking for. Maybe Riley? Comfort? A boogie man?

"This one is good,"

Asuka gave out a smile at the lady. "T-Thank you. " She couldn't help but stutter. It was a combination of the cold and her fear. She thought the best way to combat this was to drink as much punch as possible, to get her mind off of the unseen. So she did just that. She grabbed a cup and pored out the punch into it. The cup was pretty fancy, and this kept her other sences a bit occupied, shutting off her six sense for a moment or two. Until...

"Enjoying the party, miss?"

Asuka turned to were that voice had come from. She looked as a boy approached her. At this point the two others had been blocked out of her train of thought. All she saw was this kid. "umm..." Asuka hesitated bringing the glass of punch from her lips. "What to say what to say? he's kinda cute, but what to say?" The girl thought to her self before finally answering the boy.

" Besides loosing my friend, yes. The treats are nice..." What else would she say. She kept the glass close to her face. She'd been blushing a bit. Still she'd had not found the cure for this "condition". Well. Shall we continue?

"Your friend?" the boy answered, sipping from his own cup thoughtfully (was he holding that thing in the first place?). He swished the contents of his cup with gentle motions, the punch rippling and lapping at the sides as he did so, and its sweet scent wafted into the air with the movement. "Say, is he the one plodding about in a suit of armor? Strange bloke, that one. Thought I saw him in the other room right there." The boy nodded toward the door that the group had entered from.

People were clustering around a scene in the middle of the floor. A man had come up to Aeolus and his dancer, offering his hand, making light japes about something that was not quite audible over all those in the room. Aeolus made a witty retort of some kind and both chuckled at one another, and the musicians of the chamber watched on, and the men looped their arms together and proceeded to do a brief dance—and that was a folk dance, which the musicians humored with a quick change of tune. The dance and song ended as quickly as it had begun, and the crowd and men burst out in a small round of laughter.

But point of this was not their merriment. The point of this was that a wall of people divided Sable from Aeolus, making access more than a chore. And so intoxicated by the festivities was Aeolus that he did not notice Sable. In fact, he hardly seemed to remember her, let alone her twin or the girl he'd given the lighter to, let alone the outside world at all. Mountains and snow, demons and trucks, fantasy and home, it was all gone, sapped away by laughter and dancing and music.

Above, barely lit in the dimmed lighting, perched guardian angels upon pedestals that lined the walls. One statue stared through the very floor itself, its eyes blank though its face spoke of mesmerized prayer, and from where its little, stony feathers sat emerged a pair of claws. They clamped down on top of the angel's wings, and the shadow of a head raised over the head of the angel, and its eyes leered down at Sable.

"Say, you're not from around here, are you?" the boy inquired. He leaned toward Asuka, sipping his cup contemplatively once more. "Everyone here knows about the parties and knows how they work, but you look so lost. Not only that, but no one's callin' out to you or your friends. Everyone knows each other here." Another sip, this time accompanied by a bob of the head towards Elric. "Speaking of which. Everyone's giving them twins a dirty look. Why's that?"post#17*

People pressed in around Sable, preventing too much movement in the direction that she wanted to go. In fact, a wall of bodies separated her from something that she was having a hard time seeing over all the people.

Covertly, she glanced left and then right, seeing if anyone was looking at her directly, and upon realizing that nobody on the ground was, she hiked herself up a few inches somehow to peer over people's heads. She spotted Aeolus, frowned, and dropped back down to normal height.

"I'm really starting to think that he's right," she whispered, taking a breath and moving to muscle her way through the people. For her size, she had considerable strength, parting a few folks like they weren't there.

"Aeolus," she said simply, and gently tapped him in the back of the head with her knuckles, "Where did the suit come from, eh?"

Back with Elric, the spoon had disappeared at some point and now he was perked up and looking around, the hair on the back of his neck sticking up. He didn't appear to be listening to the two younger ones at all, so intent on looking around for whatever had him spooked.

"I hope this doesn't end up like Hotel California or anything," he said suddenly, mostly to himself, as the thought crossed his mind. But he heard the two talking near him, and looked down at the boy, "None of us are from around here. This town, I mean," he tilted his head, observing him critically.

"Who knows why they're doing it," he rumbled, and perked back up to keep an eye on his sister.

"Say, is he the one plodding about in a suit of armor? Strange bloke, that one. Thought I saw him in the other room right there."

Asuka perked up to the mention of the suit of Armor. Was he watching her the whole time? No. Couldn't be. The girl began to get paranoid. Not only was the place she was in a bit spooky, but. This kid... There was something about him that started to bother her. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on.

The Girl looked over slightly to were he'd nodded, and then back at the kid. "Well.. He went off somewhere. Any way I'm sure its not such a great deal. He'll be back anytime now. ^^" Asuka tried to sound friendly. Well, she was always a friendly soul, but to the unknown, the negative thoughts reached her mind, bringing her into a new darkened level of thinking.

Speaking of Dark, her eyes looked up at the lights. Why the lights haven't been bright, swiftly passed her mind. The cold, the strange people certainly brought a bit of strain on young Asuka.

"Say, you're not from around here, are you?"

" No, not from here..." The girl said softly, in a dim voice.

"Everyone here knows about the parties and knows how they work, but you look so lost. Not only that, but no one's callin' out to you or your friends. Everyone knows each other here."

"Everybody knows each other here?" Asuka was nervous. The first thing she thought was that she'd just broke into a private party . They could throw her out if they wanted to. Which was fine by her. The only thing that kept her inside this long was the fact that she was a curious soul. And that she had to find out about a Zabat sighting around the area. [color= magenta]"Re-Realy? "[/color]

She haven't notice it yet, but when he said this, it forced her to look around. Truth was what she was seeking at this point. She haven't even noticed the two tall strangers, who was just labeled as her 'friends' were even twins. The girl had began to notice things. The place she was in had some mystery behind it. So Asuka shrugged, for her answer.

"Who knows why they're doing it,"

"Hmm.. Maybe they're vampires! :K" The girl teased a bit, trying to run away from all her dark thoughts that was twirling around in her head. She didn't want to sound too serious or too un-knowledgeable of the situation, even though it was clear she haven't the clue what was about to take place...

"Eh?" Aeolus echoed, looking a little lightheaded. Tipsy, even, though there was no alcohol on his breath. It must have simply been the festivities that had gone to his head. He gave a light laugh while several of the crowd returned to their own thing, although a good amount of the people remained in their half-formed circle, chattering or watching otherwise. "I went to the changing room, that's what. I'm pretty sure I did."

He did seem pretty sure.

As improbable as it was, since no one could just change into in a suit in a matter of seconds. In the middle of a crowd.

But he seemed pretty sure.

The figure behind the statue grumbled something and slunk off of the guardian angel's back. It curled up on the pedestal, wiggling its hindquarters, and then it leaped off for the ground. It disappeared as it entered the light. Perhaps something that was never quite there.

The boy let out a delighted laugh at Asuka's remark. "Vampires! Well, wouldn't that be something!" He took a quick sip of his punch. "But, miss, I don't think anybody here's a vampire. Nobody would come here if there was one. I think."

"Timmy!" called a woman from the middle of the room.

The boy glanced over his shoulder. "A-ah, coming!" He turned back to Asuka and Elric. "Well, since you're both new here, lemme tell you something." The boy pointed to the double doors on the other side of the room—the ones they hadn't gone through. "Don't go there. If you do, you'll miss the party. Tha's what me mum told me, anyways. I'll catch up with you later!"

Sable narrowed her eyes, not in anger but instead in scrutiny. Maybe she was looking for the alcohol that wasn't there or signs of something else, though there was nothing to see but Aeolus himself. Maybe that was what was bothering her.

"You changed pretty quickly," she pointed out, though she figured it wouldn't do much good. Curious, she glanced around, and then back at him, "Where is it? I didn't see it earlier..."

Elric watched Sable just talk, but was frowning almost like he could hear what they were saying from across the room. But that was a silly thought. There's any other number of things he could be frowning at, like the conversation going on right next to him.

"Well, we're not vampires, at any rate," he sniffed, like being a vampire was an offensive thing. Depends on the type of vampire, really... Though there are no sparkles here, so obviously there's no vampires.

When he pointed out the door, Elric swiveled his head around to look at the door that was... there. It didn't look too strange, but when he turned to ask, the boy was gone already.